Democrat Ed FitzGerald is glad his new running mate stood up to Gov. John Kasich by calling his budget “un-American.”

Senate Minority Leader Eric Kearney “was right to call him out on it,” FitzGerald said yesterday as he and Kearney wound up a two-day, six-city tour to introduce the ticket that will challenge Kasich next year.

The duo’s final appearance of the day came before about

75 people in a wide entryway inside Ohio Democratic headquarters.

Kearney acknowledged that his legislative record likely will be attacked but said he is proud of it and “I look forward to the debate.”

Ohio Republican Chairman Matt Borges said, “Kearney won’t be a fundamental issue for the campaign” but added “the fact that Ed FitzGerald would make his first major decision and select a running mate who called tax cuts ‘un-American’ says a lot about FitzGerald.”

Ohio GOP spokesman Chris Schrimpf said Kearney’s “un-American” remark on WBNS-10TV’s Capitol Square program came as part of the Cincinnati Democrat’s opposition to “the nation’s largest tax decrease.”

Kearney rejected labeling the two-year state budget approved by Kasich and GOP-dominated legislature this year as a tax cut for anyone but the most affluent Ohioans.

“I highlighted the inequities of the budget and how the tax policy favored those who are wealthy over the middle class. That’s the whole gist of the argument,” Kearney said of his characterization.

FitzGerald acknowledged that Kasich kept his promise to cut the state income tax.

“But he never told them he was going to do it by raising everybody’s sales taxes,” FitzGerald said. “He financed the tax cut by raising taxes on working people, and the senator was right to call him out on it. And we’re going to continue to call him out on it all year long.”

FitzGerald pointed to Kearney’s experience in state government, saying “he’s universally respected in this town.”

At the same time, the elected executive of Cuyahoga County government noted that “there were a couple of people that were very seriously considered in central Ohio.”

Kearney has served in elective office since 2005, when he was appointed to the Senate to fill the seat vacated by now-Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory.

His finances have led to questions in past races. In 2010, The Cincinnati Herald, an African-American newspaper owned by Kearney, owed the IRS $73,560 in back taxes, according to documents filed with the Hamilton County recorder. The IRS filed a tax lien for that amount against Kearney for unpaid taxes back to 2003.

“The campaign knew about the issue prior to Eric coming on board,” said spokesman Matthew McGrath. “It was reported on back in 2010 ... and which his opponent made an issue of — and on which the voters of his district had their say. So in that sense, we consider the issue asked and answered.”

Last year, Kearney teamed up with Senate President Tom Niehaus, R-New Richmond, to sponsor bills designed to bring Ohio’s five public pension systems into long-term solvency. On Niehaus’ last day in the Senate, he paid respect to Kearney by inviting him to lead the chamber in the Pledge of Allegiance.

In June 2012, responding to a rare speech by Kasich to the Senate praising recent bipartisan work, Kearney said, “Bipartisanship involves a two-way street and involves a discussion. He is citing examples where Democratic members in voting for the interest of their districts joined bills that were formed by him. That’s not bipartisanship, that’s just us voting.”